Victory over Bromley, their first win in four outings, saw Wrexham edge up to eighth in the National League and close the gap on the leading contenders for the play-offs to just three points.

Lee Fowler and Connor Jennings both scored in the win, while the Dragons managed to keep only their ninth clean sheet this term.

Here Post sport writer Rob Griffiths looks at five things we learned from the Dragons victory over the Ravens.

Great showing from Lee Fowler

Manager Gary Mills admitted after the match is was time to give Lee Fowler his chance, saying: “Lee Fowler has done excellent in the reserves in the last couple of games, and done excellent in training, and so I decided it was time I gave him his go and he has come up with the goods.”

And Mills was certainly not wrong in his assessment, Fowler was the focal point for everything Wrexham did in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bromley.

It may not have always worked, a few passes going astray, but that is to be expected given the limited amount of football Fowler has played over the course of the season, but what Wrexham did well was largely with the midfielder at the centre.

Lee Fowler (Image: Jim Roberts)

Connor Jennings showed real bottle

Not for a second did anyone in the stands think Connor Jennings wasn’t going to step up and take the penalty in Saturday’s win, even following his miss a fortnight earlier at Eastleigh.

That day back at the Silverlake Stadium saw Jennings’s miss prove costly, his effort in the 88th minute hitting the top of the crossbar with the scores locked at 1-1 ultimately seeing them drop two points.

There wasn’t quite as much pressure on this spot kick, coming more than five minutes before the interval and with the Dragons already in front following Fowler’s opener.

But even had this effort seen as much riding on it a it did in Hampshire a fortnight ago, there is still no denying the fact Jennings would have stepped up and taken on the responsibility.

Simon Heslop has added a real solidity to the midfield

Again Simon Heslop was in outstanding form for the Dragons, helping to shore up and give a defensive stability to the side.

Indeed he was only edged out of the man of the match spot by a superb showing from Fowler.

Heslop gave the ball away for probably the first time in a Wrexham shirt, and he was grateful to Rhys Taylor for making the save from the ensuing Bromley attack, but other than that put in a near faultless performance.

Heslop does the simple things well, I know that sound ridiculous, but he wins the ball for the Dragons in key areas, and then looks to use possession cleverly, not doing too much with ambitious passes, instead keeping Mills’s men ticking over in the middle of the park.

And is he is also doing something else Mills has craved all season, and that is provide goals from midfield, the former Torquay man having scored twice in his seven appearances so far.

Only a ninth clean sheet all season

In 36 games this season in all competitions Wrexham have managed only nine clean sheets, something that is simply not good enough.

“You don’t lose if you keep clean sheets, and we have not had enough this season, we know that,” said Mills after the game.

This has been part of the reason for their struggles this term, everyone within the camp knowing as much, but Saturday’s victory and ability to keep the Ravens at bay – however limited they were in attack – will give the Dragons huge confidence going forward.

Still a long way to go

Victory moved Wrexham up to eighth in the National League standings, and closed the gap on the play-off places to just three points.

But with 13 games remaining in the campaign there is still a lot of work to be undertaken before the final reckoning.

Heading into the weekend Wrexham were probably the lowest placed side still with an ambition of reaching the top five, the Dragons in 12th place but only four points shy of fifth.

The Dragons have teams in an around them who have the ‘luxury’ of games in hand, and will know they have the opportunity to re-overtake Wrexham in the race for the top five.

Yet Wrexham’s win over Bromley at the very least keeps them in contention for the play-offs, but more importantly – with games to come against a number of sides all vying for the top five – it is still very much in their own hands.